While affordable performance cars aren’t as numerous as they used to be, there are still some great options available to buy new in 2026. But there are now fewer brands that are pulling all the weight. There was a time when all the brands listed below offered performance models, but they have now decided to sell only mainstream or luxury models. It’s a shame, too, because all of these brands have rich histories littered with performance models that would lend credibility to new attempts at performance. Yet, all six appear to have no real performance models in the pipeline, at least in America. Let’s go through each brand and discuss what their lineups look like today and how far they’ve fallen from their more enthusiast-focused years.
For this list, we’ve included only brands that have no current or planned performance models in the US (with one exception). While some of these brands still offer vehicles with healthy amounts of horsepower, the criteria for this article require actual performance models.
Mitsubishi
You could argue that Mitsubishi is the biggest offender on this list. From the cool factor of the Fast and Furious Eclipses, to the legendary rally cred of the Lancer Evolution (and its own Fast and Furious appearance), to the futuristic and ahead-of-its-time 3000GT, Mitsubishi was one of the top providers of Japanese performance machines in the 90s, 2000s, and 2010s until the Eclipse and Evo came to an end. And even that glosses over other older Mitsubishi performance products, such as the Starion, as well as off-road performance models like the Pajero Evolution, which we didn’t get in America.
These days, Mitsubishi is a shadow of what it once was, with minimal investment in the American market, leaving us with a competitive Outlander but very uncompetitive, very dated Outlander Sport (now in its 15th year!) and Eclipse Cross (now in its 9th year). Thankfully, it sounds like Mitsubishi’s partnership with Nissan will allow it to bring a re-badged version of the new Nissan Leaf to America this year, along with a new rugged version of the Outlander, so they have something new, but it’s not much. And it’s certainly a far cry from anything performance-oriented, sadly.
Chrysler
Chrysler is another company that is now a shadow of its former self. The brand basically invented the muscle car with the 300 back in the 1950s, and made a turbine car in the 60s. The automaker adapted to the times by launching a few sporty vehicles in the 80s and 90s, many of them developed in partnership with Mitsubishi, such as the Conquest.
By 2026, the Chrysler brand’s lineup consists of just the Pacifica minivan. Chrysler swears it has new vehicles coming, but we haven’t seen anything yet, other than a few concepts. We really hope Chrysler brings performance back to its lineup someday. A new 300 based on the current Charger would be a great start.
Fiat
While we’re in the Stellantis empire, we might as well take this opportunity to discuss the sad state of affairs at Fiat in North America. They’re another one-car brand with so much potential. All you have to do is look at their Italian website, where you’ll see a vibrant lineup that’s fun, sporty, and sells well. Here in America, all they offer now is the 500e. It’s a delightful little car for those who can live with 141 miles of electric range. I’m actually leasing one right now and love it, but it’s not a performance model by any stretch of the imagination, and its sales are very low here for obvious reasons. The crazy thing is that they have a sporty Abarth version of the 500e in Europe that they have withheld from Americans for some reason, and even the bigger 600e, offered in Europe, has an Abarth version.
Not long ago, Fiat offered not only the 500 Abarth, which was successful enough to be sold here for 8 model years, but also the 124 Abarth, the spicier version of the 124 Spider that was developed in partnership with Mazda. And that’s just 21st-century Fiat history. Even though Fiat didn’t have a huge footprint in America in the 20th century, we still enjoyed legendary sports cars like the original 124. Tariffs have certainly made it hard for more Fiats to come to America, so we can’t blame them, but if they’re already bothering to bring over the 500e, why not the Abarth version?
Jaguar
If a one-car brand is bad, imagine being a Jaguar dealer right now with nothing to sell except used cars. Aside from the last 1,239 leftover units of the 2024-2026 F-Pace, E-Pace, I-Pace, F-Type, and XF listed for sale, Jaguar dealers are forced to sit on their hands and wait for the recently-named Type 01 to arrive. And while we also recently learned that it’ll have a whopping 986 hp, it’s aiming for the likes of Bentley’s Continental GT as a grand tourer more than a sports car. But you could argue that any car with 986 hp is really a performance car.
Even if we do count that one, it’s still a steep drop-off from the plethora of S, R, and SVR Jags that have been available to buy in just the 21st century alone, not to mention all the legendary leaping cats we got in America from the 1950s to the 1990s. While there’s been plenty of comfy, relaxed Jaguars too, Jaguar, at its heart, is a performance brand, and we hope they don’t forget that in their new transition.
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Volvo
Volvo thankfully still has a healthy, growing lineup here in America, even after losing the EX30 this year due to tariffs, but it doesn’t really offer anything performance-oriented anymore. They still have the XC60 Polestar Engineered, a relic from the era when Polestar was still Volvo’s performance arm, not a standalone brand as it is now. That one does have properly massive brakes, stiffer suspension, and 455 hp, so it certainly qualifies, and we have to give Volvo credit for keeping it around. But other than that, there’s nothing with actual performance intentions.
The EX30 was actually the quickest car under $50k in the industry, with a 3.4-second 0-60 mph time, but it had no other performance upgrades. The other electric Volvos certainly aren’t short on acceleration, with up to 670 hp. Still, it seems there are no new Polestar Engineered models on the horizon, nor any performance package for future models. We can’t say we’re surprised about this one, though, considering safety is their top priority and that often doesn’t go hand in hand with performance. But between all the R models of the 90s and 2000s, and Polestars of the 2010s, it wasn’t long ago that Volvo had some real performance models, not to mention all the sporty stuff of the 1980s and earlier, including having the bragging rights of the fastest wagon in the world at one point with the 245 Turbo.
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Lincoln
Lastly, let’s talk about Lincoln. It’s been 20 years since their most recent and probably most earnest attempt at a sporty sedan with the Lincoln LS. Since then, we’ve seen a 400 hp twin-turbo V6 in the MKZ and Continental before they both bit the dust, but that’s it. These days, Lincoln seems content to be firmly planted on the comfort side of the luxury brand, paying no mind to the performance models that just about every other luxury brand also offers.
That might be for the best, because Lincoln does luxurious interiors very well, but it would still have been nice to see a return of the “Mark” series with a coupe based on the Mustang platform, for starters. At least the Aviator gets the 400 hp twin-turbo V6 from the Ford Explorer ST and an adaptive suspension. But it’s a bit of a surprise that Lincoln still seems to have no interest in competing with its main rival, Cadillac, and doesn’t have any models to match the hotter V lineup.
Sources: Mitsubishi, Chrysler, Fiat, Jaguar, Volvo, Lincoln
